All of us acknowledge that Children are active, creative social agents who produce their own unique children’s culture while simultaneously contributing to the production of adult societies. Childhood, as sociologists describe is a structural form. It is a category or a part of society, like social class and age groups. In this sense children are members or incumbents of their childhoods. For the children themselves, childhood is a temporary period. For society, on the other hand, childhood is a permanent structural form or category that never disappears even though its members change continuously and its nature and conception vary historically. As a structural form, childhood is interrelated with other structural categories like social class, gender, and age groups . Thus, the structural arrangements of these categories and changes in these arrangements will affect the nature of childhood. In modern societies, changes in social structural arrangements of categories like gender, occupation or work, family, social class have resulted in many mothers working outside the home and their young children spending much of their time in institutional settings like day care centers and early childhood education programs, which did not exist in the past. On the political level there has been considerable legislation in support of children and families.
Much of sociology’s thinking about children and childhood derives from theoretical work on socialization, the processes by which children adapt to internalize society. In other words, the child is seen as something apart from society that must be shaped and guided by external forces in order to become a fully functioning member.
But children in their particular childhoods are, like adults, active participants in organized activities [for example, they engage in economic production and consumption]. They both affect and are affected by major societal events and developments. Consider, for example, recent changes in our society such as rising divorce rates, greater female participation in the labor force, and lower fertility levels especially among the middle and upper classes. Sociologists have increasingly documented the effects of these factors on the family and to some extent on individual children. Bur how are the lives of children – that is, contemporary children’s childhoods- affected by such changes?
Today the majority of urban- children in India spend their early childhood in preschool. What does this mean for the children’s childhood? Is it a childhood that is wholly scheduled, organized and supervised by adults? Or can we look upon preschool as an intermediate domain between the public and the private, a domain where parents and preschool staff collaborate in order to care for children? A domain where children are active in the negotiations that create and recreate the institution? What are the meanings of childhood in preschool? And how are children described, if we take the child perspective and the children’s experiences as our points of departure?
Furthermore, how might children, through their collective activities, contribute to society’s accommodation to such changes? How do children participate in cultural routines? How has the increased longevity due to modern technology on the one hand and migration /immigration of parents on the other hand, affected the interrelationships of the generations and the lives of children in our Indian society?
A key question which is needed to be answered: Where do children and childhood fit into the abstract theories of social structure? The proposed seminar makes an attempt to answer this key question. It is proposed to explore a range of contexts in this seminar with a clear focus on children, childhood, and the experience of children from a number of perspectives.
Seminar Aims:
The aims of the seminar are to:
• Exchange and develop ideas
• Encourage research and publication around the sociology of childhood
• Promote the sociological understanding of children
• To develop links with other sociological and related childhood organizations
Thrust Areas:
The substantive areas of childhood proposed to be covered in the seminar include:
• Sociology of childhood
• Contemporary issues in childhood
• Historical perspectives on childhood
• Policy issues related specifically to children
• Children, risk and society
• Researching children
Call for Papers:
• Full papers along with an abstract of 250 words are invited from Sociologists, Educationists, Academicians, Social Scientists, Research scholars, Activists and NGOs from College/universities, Research Institutions.
• Papers should be written in 1.5 line space on one side of A4 paper, in Times New Roman with font size of 12 for normal text and font size of 14 for title and subtitle. Length of the paper should not exceed 8 pages.
• Contribution should represent original research work which has not been published or submitted for publication else where.
• Papers should be submitted on or before 15th December 2009 in soft and hard copies.
• A copy also should be sent to the e-mail specified.
Review and acceptance:
Papers submitted to the seminar will be reviewed by a Review Committee and acceptance of paper for presentation will be intimated to the first Author only by e-mail on or before 31st December 2009.

Distribution and publication:
Selected research papers would be published in the form of edited volume.
Accommodation:
All registered participants would be provided free simple sharing accommodation for one night and two days of the seminar. For luxury/deluxe accommodation you are requested to make your own arrangement.
Dates to remember:
Last date for submission of Full-length paper: 15th December 2009
Intimation regarding paper acceptance by e-mail: 31st December 2009
Last date for registration for outstation delegates: 3rd January 2010
Accommodation requests: 31st December 2009

Conference Registration fee: Delegates: Rs. 1,000 Research scholars [Enclose proof]: Rs.500 Mode of payment: Registration fee should be sent in the form of DD drawn in favor of Dr.M.V.Lakshmi Devi, Seminar Director, R.B.V.R.R.Women’s College, Hyderabad payable at Hyderabad [A.P.] Contact details: Dr.M.V.Lakshmi Devi, Seminar Director & Head, Department of Sociology ,, R.B.V.R.R.Women’s College, Narayanguda, Hyderabad [A.P.] 500027 Phone No. : 040-27564660 [college];040-27561439 [residence];098481-14906 E-mail: mvlakshmid@gmail.com mvlakshmidevi@rediffmail.com lakshmivijaya38@yahoo.com